Seventeen American soldiers have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation into alleged allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
They include a battalion commander and a company commander, Colonel William Darley said in Baghdad. He gave no further details.
Last month, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of US forces in Iraq, ordered a criminal investigation into reports of abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison on the western outskirts of Baghdad.
The announcement followed allegations by Amnesty International and former prisoners of harsh treatment of detainees arrested by US and coalition forces since the Iraq war began last March.
The coalition is believed to be holding more than 12,000 detainees for various offences, including attacks on US and allied troops. Last month, three US Army reservists were discharged for abuse of prisoners at the Camp Bucca detention centre in southern Iraq.
AP